NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Each time Marc Mariani heads out to catch a kickoff, he huddles first with the Tennessee special teams coach for a quick strategy session. Once he reaches the end zone and the balls in the air, the mental calculations begin.Where will the ball come down? Short of the goal line or behind? Catch it and run? Catch and kneel? Or just let it roll out of the end zone for a touchback?All in the seconds that it takes for the ball to fly off the kickers foot to the returner.It makes you second guess taking it out of the end zone now, and I think thats what the NFL wanted , said Mariani, a 2010 Pro Bowler as a return specialist.The NFL is halfway through its one-season experiment with a rule placing the ball at the 25-yard line instead of the 20 on touchbacks . The league wants to see how that impacts kickoff returns while hoping to keep players safer by reducing runbacks. Studies have shown players are at greater risk of injury on a play sending teams running at each other, creating relatively high-speed collisions.Through nine weeks, touchbacks are up to 60.9 percent on kickoffs, according to Sportradar. Thats a jump from 58.8 percent a year ago and is the highest rate at this point in any season over the past 11 years. Teams also are averaging just 20.5 yards per return, the lowest average since the start of the 2006 season.Titans special teams coach Steve Hoffman said the rule is having the effect special teams coaches expected, making it very difficult to reach the 25 returning a kick. Teams with fast players who recognize an opponents coverage scheme still can attack, though the decision on when to risk returning a kick often depends on the score and time left on the clock.Its hard to get it to the 25, Hoffman said. You ask most offensive coordinators, theyre going to call plays a lot different at their own 15 than their own 27. They dont want to take negative plays. They dont want to take a sack, so what everybodys trying to do, theyre just trying to pin it.Through the first eight weeks, only two kicks had been returned for touchdowns -- both by the Philadelphia Eagles.Then within an hour of each other, Kenyan Drake returned a late kick 96 yards for a TD , helping Miami beat the Jets 27-23. And Colts running back Jordan Todman took the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown , setting the tone for a big win at Lambeau Field on a play Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy called a big swing.You cant have it, McCarthy said. Thats coverage unit 101.Kickoff returns remain thrilling plays, and those pushed the NFL to four TDs midway through the season, matching the four such TDs at the same point each of the previous two seasons. The league hasnt had double-digit touchdowns off kickoff runbacks through nine weeks since 2010 -- the year before the NFL moved kickoffs from the 30-yard line to the 35.Cordarrelle Patterson of Minnesota had 10 returns of 50 yards or longer during his first three seasons with the Vikings. This season, he surprised Tennessee with a 61-yard return coming out of halftime in the season opener, but has had nothing longer than 37 yards since.Patterson used to have the green light even backed up in his end zone, with the Vikings confident Patterson he could reach at least their 24. Now getting to the 24 means Patterson might as well have taken a knee in the end zone, and Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said the rule has affected how they think.I think its going to be interesting going forward with what the league does with it as long as we keep the play in the game, Priefer said. Its an exciting play. It does make a difference on field positioning. The way we teach it here is to teach our techniques to keep guys safe, keep the head out of the game, and I know a lot of coaches are doing that now. I dont think theres as many injuries as there has been. So, were going in the right direction.The NFL still has half a season left before deciding whether to make the rule permanent. With the weather turning cooler, especially for northern teams, Darren Rizzi, Miamis assistant head coach/special teams coordinator, expects more teams to opt for the high, shorter kickoff that has been used mostly by those with both good kickers and coverage units.So, there have been some unseen things I think that theyve been pretty interesting, so I think that itll continue to trend downward, Rizzi said.---AP Pro Football Writers Dave Campbell and Rob Maaddi and AP Sports Writers Steve Wine and Michael Marot contributed to this report.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker Nike Air VaporMax Blue Black . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. Nike Air VaporMax Orange . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. http://www.cheapnikeairvapormax.com/?tag=nike-air-vapormax-white-blue . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Nike Air VaporMax Brown Yellow . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL. Nike Air VaporMax Light Grey White Pink . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. TENNESSEE (5-5) at INDIANAPOLIS (4-5)Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE -- Colts by 3 1/2RECORD VS. SPREAD -- Tennessee 4-6, Indianapolis 4-4-1SERIES RECORD -- Colts lead 30-14LAST MEETING -- Colts beat Titans 34-26, Oct. 23LAST WEEK -- Titans beat Packers 47-25; Colts had bye, beat Packers 31-26 on Nov. 6AP PRO32 RANKING -- Titans No. 16, Colts No. 24TITANS OFFENSE -- OVERALL (6), RUSH (3), PASS (21).TITANS DEFENSE -- OVERALL (17), RUSH (8), PASS (24).COLTS OFFENSE -- OVERALL (13), RUSH (23), PASS (12).COLTS DEFENSE -- OVERALL (30), RUSH (22), PASS (31).STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES -- Titans have won four of last six overall but have lost 10 straight in series since beating Colts in October 2011. ... Tennessee has scored 35 or more points in three consecutive games, first time in single season in franchise history. ... Tennessees last win at Indianapolis came Dec. 30, 2007 -- before Lucas Oil Stadium opened in 2008. ... Five wins this season match Titans total from last two seasons combined. ... QB Marcus Mariota has thrown NFL-high 17 TD passes over past six weeks. Hes totaled NFL-record four TDs in six of first 22 career games. ... 2014 league rushing champ DeMarco Murray is No. 2 in NFL with 930 yards as he chases third career 1,000-yard season. Murray needs one TD run to break tie with Earl Campbell for most consecutive games with rushing score (five) in franchise history. ... OLB Brian Orakpo has team-high nine sacks after getting two last week vs. Aaron Rodgers. He needs one sack to become first Titans player to get 10 in one season since Jurrell Casey (2013).dddddddddddd ... K Ryan Succop has made 29 consecutive field goals from less than 50 yards. ... Indianapolis will honor 10-year anniversary of 2006 Super Bowl championship with team members at halftime Sunday. ... Colts come off bye week looking for first back-to-back wins of season. Indy won Week 7 matchup when TE Jack Doyle caught 7-yard TD pass with 1:55 to go. ... Colts have allowed league-high 33 sacks. ... QB Andrew Luck is perfect 8-0 vs. Titans since entering league in 2012 and needs 261 yards to pass 1976 league MVP Bert Jones (17,653) for No. 3 on franchises career list. ... K Adam Vinatieri has extended NFL record for most consecutive field goals to 44. Vinatieri broke Mike Vanderjagts previous record (42) with two field goals at Tennessee. Vinatieri has made last nine field goals from 50 or more yards. ...RB Frank Gore will surpass Campbell, Leroy Kelly and Marshawn Lynch (74) on his next TD run. Gore needs 108 yards rushing to pass Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett for No. 8 on NFLs career list. ... Fantasy Tip: Colts have struggled to defend tight ends. Titans TE Delanie Walker had seven catches for 84 yards with one TD, all team highs, in first game vs. Indy, and had nine catches for 124 yards and another score last week vs. Packers. 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